1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for identifying the type of an input tool of an electronic device. More particularly, the present invention relates to the various applications of the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the fast-paced life of modern people, it has become a common habit to emphasize convenience and efficiency for daily tasks. Take handheld devices such as cell phones or personal digital assistants (PDAs) for example, in addition to features such as powerful functions, light weight, and compact design, the users generally expect to open and execute the necessary functions in a very short time. The expectation is especially true for frequently used functions like editing short messages or looking up communication records. The convenience of handheld devices would be improved if the users can open some frequently used functions quickly when manipulating the handheld devices.
In order to meet the above demand, manufacturers of handheld devices install hot keys corresponding to specific frequently used functions on the casing or keyboard of handheld device at the design stage. Therefore, when the user presses a hot key, a corresponding frequently used function can be opened on quickly in order to shorten the time spent on searching and opening the function. For example, some manufacturers install a button for opening the photo-shooting function on the side of cell phones so that the photo-shooting function of a cell phone can be activated immediately when the user presses the button.
However, in the increasing trend toward light weight and compactness, the space for the manufacturers to install hot keys is quite limited. Besides, the expectation of the users for exterior design of handheld devices cannot be ignored. In order to ensure the design and shape of handheld devices conform to aesthetic standards, manufacturers have to limit the number of hot keys at the design stage. Consequently only a few hot keys are available for meeting the requirement of quick activation of frequently used functions.
As a result, only a few functions of a handheld device have corresponding hot keys for quick activation by the user. When the user wants to execute a function without corresponding hot key, the user has to open the function by manipulating the menu of the handheld device. Because generally the menu of a handheld device has a tree structure, and most of the time the menu is shown on the display of the handheld device, the user may need to find the function he/she needs by selecting and entering several sub-menus in the user interface on the touch sensing means overlapped with the display. For some frequently used functions, if every time they have to be executed in the way described above, a lot of time would be wasted and there would be significant inconvenience in using the handheld device.
Generally speaking, at present most users select menu items by means by contact or sensing behavior between finger or stylus and the touch sensing means. However, for conventional handheld devices, the user interface offers no difference (such as the user interface shown in FIG. 6) no matter the selection is made with finger or stylus. A user exhibits different input characteristics when he/she performs input action on the touch sensing means with finger or stylus respectively. Generally a stylus is more precise than a finger is, therefore the stylus is capable of more precise operation in the user interface, such as typing on a virtual keyboard shown on the display or selecting items on a more compact menu. On the other hand, inputting with a finger on the touch sensing means is more instinctive, quicker, and more convenient to the user because the user may operate with just a hand without the trouble of drawing a stylus, although the finger has a larger contact area on the touch sensing means and is more prone to accidentally touch other items on the user interface.
In summary, conventional handheld devices have some deficiency. The first one is that certain specific functions have to be selected and activated through an extensive unfolding of the layers of the menu by the user. The second one is that either the finger or the stylus is not an ideal input tool for the user interface of a conventional handheld device because the stylus is more agile but more cumbersome for the user while the finger is more convenient for the user but is more clumsy and is more prone to erroneous contact.
In view of the above, it would be very convenient for the user if a handheld device can offer different operation mechanism in response to different input tools. For example, the handheld device could provide an operation mechanism suitable for a stylus when the stylus is being used and, on the other hand, provide another operation mechanism suitable for a finger when the finger is being used. Besides, a problem derived from such an expectation is how to switch between these different operation mechanisms.
Furthermore, the casing of a conventional handheld device is usually directly adjacent to the edge of the display area of the touch display and is more extrusive relative to the sensing surface of the touch display. Because the extrusion of the casing hampers the operation of the input tool (such as a finger or a stylus) and tends to scratch the finger, the user cannot touch the pixels on the edge of the display area of the touch display quickly and effectively in order to perform a smooth touch operation. In addition, although the non-display area of a touch display is capable of sensing a touch contact, the casing of a conventional handheld device usually covers this non-display area, thus hampering the touch operation of the user and limits the application of the touch sensing capability of the touch display.